There are 3 main ways to pay your property taxes.

1. Pay them in one lump sum when they come due in July.
2. Have your mortgage lender collect them with your regular mortgage payments.
3. Pay them monthly through your municipality's property tax prepayment plan.

My suggestion would be to go with #3. I've personally paid them all 3 ways and #3 has proved to be the best in my experience.

#1 - It's not much fun starting your summer with a large property tax bill.

#2 - Sometimes the lender will not collect enough, which causes them to increase payments the following year to ensure they are now collecting enough for the next year AND to make up for the shortfall for the last year. This can significantly impact total payments.

On the flip side, sometimes they over-collect without considering your homeowner grant (if you are eligible) and it's a pain to get it sorted out.

#3 - You decide on the amount to be withdrawn each month. You can check your tax notice for the suggested pre-

payment withdrawal amount and it leaves you in complete control.

Here are the links for a few local property tax prepayment plan applications:

• Abbotsford
• Chilliwack
• Mission
• Langley
• Surrey